April 8, 2012 … Just Do It !!

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: 1st Samuel 4-8 … To study these chapters, go to this link -

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Highlight Reference Passage : 1st Samuel 7: 2-5 … 2 The ark remained at Kiriath Jearim a long time—twenty years in all. Then all the people of Israel turned back to the LORD. 3 So Samuel said to all the Israelites, “If you are returning to the LORD with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the LORD and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.” 4 So the Israelites put away their Baals and Ashtoreths, and served the LORD only.

My Journal for Today: Reading on in 1st Samuel today, Chapters 4-8, we read of what a “hot potato” the Ark of the Covenant became when it was in the hands of the Philistines; and it took plagues and deaths of their people everywhere they took the Ark before they finally returned the power-laden ark to the Israelites; and even then they merely thought that the “God” of the Israelites was merely stronger than their gods, whom they continued to worship.

And it even took the Israelites to see seventy of their own to die at the hands of the One, True God for them to finally see that the Ark was more than just an idol in-and-of itself, to be used for military victories.

Why is it that it takes disasters or cataclysmic events in our lives for us to turn to God?

I can recall what it took in my life. Even after reading the New Testament in a class in college; and having Christian after Christian testify of God’s saving grace to me, I still couldn’t choose to realize that God was real and the idols in my life produced nothing by pain and continued personal weakness. But God, in His infinite mercy and His prevenient grace, pursued me as the “Hound of Heaven’” and ultimately broke me to the core of my being just as He did with His chosen ones at this stage in their history (i.e., in 1st Samuel where I’m reading now).

Why, when we hear the Gospel or the truth from the testimony of someone whose life has been transformed by Jesus, do we keep holding on to our fleshly idols? Or why, when we read or hear the truth proclaimed in a passage like John 3: 16, don’t we do what the Nike company’s logo used to proclaim and Just Do It !!, i.e., receive God’s merciful, saving grace? So often we have to experience personal brokenness or disaster before we’re willing to just see God for Whom He is and receive His saving or sanctifying grace. Even Christians, some who’ve been saved and have backslidden for years, find that they have to experience horrible personal brokenness to bring them back to a place there they can … “JUST DO IT” … and surrender their idols before God and receive His grace in surrender of their own will to that of the God Who saves.

Today, as I read and journal here, it is Easter; and we, who believe in the One True God Who saves, will proclaim, Hallelujah, He is risen!! But as we proclaim it with our lips, prayerfully in genuine worship of our LORD, Who died and was risen for our salvation, will we truly worship God by doing what Yahweh demands … to serve Him as the ONE AND ONLY God? Will we, today of all days, in our hearts, JUST DO IT and set aside all the idols in our lives and turn them over to the Lord, Who shed His blood that we might live and celebrate life with Him forever?

Hey, my friend … on this special day of worship … LET’S JUST DO IT!!!

My Prayer Today: … LORD, You are my LORD!!! And You are risen !!! I worship Your Holy Name … forever!! Amen

March 20, 2012 … Life or Death – The Choice is Before Us

Blogger’s note: I know this one is long; but trust me, it’s worth the read!

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Deuteronomy, Chapters 30-31 … To study these chapters, go to this link -

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Highlight Reference Passage : Deuteronomy 30: 1-6 … 1 When all these blessings and curses I have set before you come on you and you take them to heart wherever the LORD your God disperses you among the nations, 2 and when you and your children return to the LORD your God and obey him with all your heart and with all your soul according to everything I command you today, 3 then the LORD your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where he scattered you. 4 Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens, from there the LORD your God will gather you and bring you back. 5 He will bring you to the land that belonged to your ancestors, and you will take possession of it. He will make you more prosperous and numerous than your ancestors. 6 The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.
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Highlight Reference Passage #2 : Deuteronomy 30: 11-16 … 11 Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. 12 It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, “Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” 13 Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, “Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” 14 No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it. … 15 See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. 16 For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.
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Highlight Reference Passage #3 : Deuteronomy 30: 19-20 … 19 This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live 20 and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

My Journal for Today: Today I was led to Chapters 30-31 of Deuteronomy; and I think I could write a small book in journaling on these chapters. In fact, as you see above, I had trouble limiting the highlighted passages that I really wanted you to read and study along with me this morning. And really God’s message – through Moses to His people – back in that day, when the people were about to follow Joshua into the promised-land, was quite stark … and really quite simple. Certainly I’m not saying it was easy, because God knew that His beloved and chosen people were going to fail Him; and for Moses and Joshua God even predicted that one day He, the Lord, would have to abandon His loved ones for a season for them to realize the consequences of their collective sin (to see this prediction, read Chapter 31 from the link above).

But God’s mercy and His promises are everlasting; and God will one day bring His recalcitrant Hebrew children into the promised-land; and so, in the meantime as the history of disobedience was to unfold in their future, as they crossed over the Jordan and were to follow Joshua into the promised-land, the people were reminded (again) of their options; and I charge you to read and meditate on those options in the Deut. 30: 19-20 above.

And my dear ones, who might be reading with me today, aren’t these the same choices that have today? In fact the Apostle Paul even reminded New Covenant Christians of this life-death choice when he wrote – for God – to the Romans (and now for all time to all Christians) in Romans 10: 5-8, and in doing so, he referred to the Deut. 30: 11-14 passage copied above for you.

By reading and meditating on the words of God through Moses and repeated later in history by Paul, we must realize that everyday we have these choices in front of us … obedience versus disobedience … life versus death … selfishness verses “Saviorness.” And so many times, our choice can seem so difficult. Yet, as Moses and Paul point out, it is really quite simple. Do we really believe God and His promises; or do we believe what Satan would want for us to believe? It was the same choice which Adam and Eve had in the garden, knowing God’s commands and being confronted by Satan. And we know the result of their choice, don’t we?

Today, you and I will confront something which says to us, “Okay, which choice will you make, … life or death … sinfulness or Saviorness?” And we’re going to have to make the same choice which was made by God’s people in response to the charge given to them as they were to march forward into the promised-land; and we know, from the Bible, how miserably they failed. But we also know, from the same Bible, that God has provided the perfect redemption and atonement for the sins of His people; and that redemption also comes from a choice. And oh how I pray you have made that choice … to receive God’s everlasting grace of salvation; and I pray that we’re marching – this very day TOGETHER – toward God’s promised-land.

Now, one last word, my friend; … I know, from experience, how easy it is to make sin choices and get so mired in habitual sin, walking far away from God, that you don’t feel you can choose to move back into a state of harmony with God. But my friends, God always has the choice of sinful death or eternally cleansed and blessed life out in front of us. And if we’re willing and able to make the “life choice” today in repentance, He’s ALWAYS ready to take us back in to His loving arms. That, of course, was the message of Christ’s wonderful and powerful “prodigal” parable, wasn’t it? And if you’ve been away from God for a season in your life; and you want to know what God has waiting for you IF you can make the choice to come back to Him today, listen to this wonderful song, performed by Phillips, Craig, and Dean, and relish in the love of God as He says to us this morning, “Come back home!”

Here’s the link to that song on You Tube; and I so hope you’ll take 5 minutes and be lifted up by the reality of God’s grace. And then if you have a few more minutes, listen to this song by the same group, singing of how God and His angels will celebrate when and if we can make the righteous choices He lays out for us today. And then one last link to a song in this little mini-concert about the grace of God when we choose the Savior over self.

My Prayer Today: … Lord, I’m so grateful that You were willing to pursue me with Your grace and to give me the time to choose Your grace; and now I’m so grateful for Your patience in allowing me to become the Saint You are shaping me to become. Today, from the choices You will offer me, … I will choose LIFE! Amen

March 14, 2012 … Say it again, Moses!

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Deuteronomy, Chapters 11-13 … To study these chapters, go to this link -

Deuteronomy 11: 26-28: … [The Choice!] … 26 See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse—27 the blessing if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today; 28 the curse if you disobey the commands of the Lord your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known.

My Journal for Today: Actually, as we read through Deuteronomy, Chapters 11-13 (if you’re with me), I was taken by Chapter 11 today where Moses (AGAIN) lays out God’s choice for His chosen ones with regard to the Mosaic Covenant. I hope you’ll use the link above and read all of Chapter 11: but THE CHOICE is spelled out again for us by Moses, laying it out for a people who had a track record of forgetfulness, selfishness, and blatant childish disobedience [sound familiar?]. And Moses was concerned that the children of the current generation of Israelites, those who had never seen all that God had done for His people, miraculously delivering them from Egypt, providing for them in the wilderness for 40 years, and being there with them in the Tabernacle as they traveled, would very easily lapse into disobedience as they went into the promised-land. The Prophet could easily foresee the likelihood that this youngest generation would be vulnerable to disobedience and, therefore, breach their obligations to follow God’s commands as they traversed into God’s promised-land; and Moses knew what the result would be. So, the aging Prophet laid the fateful choice out for God’s people once again, writing it down in what was to become God’s Book of the Law. And, my friends, we of the New Covenant, in this age of God’s grace, really have the same choice, don’t we?

We can choose to live or die under the covering of the blood of Christ. We can choose to believe in Jesus and obey Him and live eternally as His disciples; or we can choose to reject, in disbelief, what He did on the cross; and the result of the latter choice is eternal death, … i.e., never being allowed into God’s heavenly promised-land. And even after we make the choice which leads to eternal life, it is God’s New Covenant (in Christ) to give us His resurrection power in our lives, living eternally blessed in God’s promised-land. In other words, even as saved believers, we can choose to be disobedient and experience the deathly consequences of our disobedience in sin, which will render us impotent against the powers of our spiritual enemies, … Satan, the world, and our own flesh. The choice is still obedience and power in the promised-land … versus … disobedience and death in our lives; … and WE CHOOSE.

I’m praying this morning – as I do so many mornings – that I will see the power of surrender to God’s will, seeking and finding His way by following God’s word, which was what Moses laid out for God’s people in God’s Book of the Law; and it is what we have laid out before us as believers in the truth of God’s word. Let me pray that you see the choice as Moses and Jesus have laid it out for us; and I pray that we all choose life.

My Prayer Today: … Lord, I pray that all who read here with me have made their choice, as I have, and we choose to follow You in obedience to Your word, knowing that You will provide life for all who do. Amen

March 12, 2012 … Hear … Learn … Obey!

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Deuteronomy, Chapters 5-7 … To study these chapters, go to this link -

Deuteronomy 5: 1: … [Hear, Learn, and Obey] … [God to His people] … Moses summoned all Israel and said: “Hear, Israel, the decrees and laws I declare in your hearing today. Learn them and be sure to follow them”
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Deuteronomy5: 29: … [Again … To Obey and Live] … [God to Moses] “Oh, that their hearts [i.e., the people of Israel] would be inclined to fear Me and keep all My commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever!”

My Journal for Today: Wow! Two verses and two three point sermons right from God’s mouth to the ears of Moses, who, in writing them the Book of the Law, transmits these two power-packed homilies to all of God’s people; and that includes you an me.

The first three-point sermon [in Deut. 5: 1] says “Hear My Laws! … Learn My laws! … and … Obey My laws!” Could God be any more direct and any clearer? I think not! And as I’m confronted by this God-given directive to His people, God’s Spirit in me bubbles forth, from my memory, a powerful truth from another part of His Book … this one from Isaiah 55: 11, which states, for followers of the one, true God, …

“ … so is My word that goes out from My mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”

How much clearer could God’s directives be for those of us who are covered by both of God’s Covenants (Old and New)? Through His prophets, Moses and Isaiah, directly to us, God is saying … [my humble summary and paraphrase of God’s Deut. 1 and Isaiah 55 sermons] … “HEAR what I say, … LEARN what I say, … DO what I say; and everything you do will be powerful and productive to accomplish My WILL, in My WAY, through My WORD?”

And then we read in Deut. 5: 29 God’s promise to His people (and to you and me in Christ), God’s three-point sermon of promise and what will result (God never lies!!!) when/if we hear, learn, and obey God’s word. God says (again my humble paraphrase), “LISTEN to My word, … REVERENCE My word, … and … OBEY my Word; … and YOU WILL LIVE FOREVER!”

I certainly couldn’t make it any clearer than God gave it to His people through Moses and how God promised power to His people through Isaiah. God was giving His laws to His people so that they [we] could learn them, obey them, and live. But we know that so many of these people, hearing the straight stuff of love from God Himself, couldn’t – or wouldn’t – cut it; and they disobeyed and died.

I don’t think I need to go on here any more about this, do I? God says it! Done deal! … Now, … I need to say to myself here this morning; … knowing God’s truth and dwelling in it daily, … I’m deeply convicted by my memory of the old Nike company motto, which used to say, “JUST DO IT!”

My Prayer Today: … Lord, help me to hear Your word, learn Your word, and do Your will … today and everyday. Amen

March 3, 2012 … Merciful Healing

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Numbers, Chapters 21-22 … To study these chapters, go to this link -

Numbers 21: 4-9: … [Snake on the Pole] … 4 They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; 5 they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!”
6 Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. 7 The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.
8 The LORD said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.

My Journal for Today: Today in my chronological read through the Bible, I was taken to Chapters 21-22 of Numbers; and the passage which was emboldened for me to write about today was the one copied above from Numbers 21: 4-9, the story of God, the snakes, and the pole statue. And on the surface it just seems to be another in a long line of God teaching the grumbling and continually recalcitrant Israelites a lesson in obedience and mercy. And most certainly it is documentation of that; but this story has way more prophetic and Messianic implications for a Bible traveler like me.

Please take the time, fellow traveler through God’s word, to meditate on this story. And do you recognize the pole symbol which God had constructed to be a traveling remembrance of how He mercifully provided a way for His rebellious children to be saved from the plague of snakes which He had visited upon those disobedient fools in the desert? Yes, … for those who’ve been in hospitals or doctor’s offices, you may remember the international healing symbol, the CADUCEUS, … two snakes entwining a pole beneath wings of victory (or healing, in this instance). Well, the origin of that symbol can be found in this passage.

And if you ever go to the pinnacle of Mount Nebo in Jordan, which is the very place where Moses took God’s people during their trek to the promised-land; and the place being referred to in Numbers 21, there is an enormous statue erected there of bronze on the place where Moses looked out over the promised land, … the land he would never enter but the promised land which would one day be the place where God’s people were returned to God’s healing and covering care. I’ll attach a picture of that statue below for your viewing; and you’ll note how the statue on Mount Nebo resembles the healing symbol, the Caduceus.

But also note how the symbol depicts Christ on the cross; and that’s the prophetic picture which God was crafting for His people; and it is the image which Jesus, Who was the fulfillment of this prophesy, spoke of to Nicodemus in the garden, which we read of in John 3: 13-15 to which I’ll link you here to read.

And what is our take-away application here? Well, I hope you’ve seen it. God was giving His people a picture, by creating a statue, which they could look upon and, in their faith, would be delivered from the poison of their own sinfulness. That, my friends, is exactly the picture of salvation and healing which any of us can have (and hopefully already have had) when we look to what Christ did on that pole of death and life in Calvary, … the Lord shedding His blood on that tree, so that anyone in faith can be cleansed, healed, and saved from the poison of their own sin.

It is a glorious and wonderful picture of salvation; and isn’t it wonderful that we can see how God used this picture in several places in the Bible to remind us of God’s healing. We read about it here in Numbers; and as I’ve mentioned in the New Testament as Jesus made reference to the same image. But you can also read about it in a Psalm written by King David’s worship leader, Asaph, who remembered this image in Psalm 78, which I hope you’ll go back and read with this link …

God’s healing and saving grace is always there for anyone who looks to the cross and sees, through the eyes of faith, a Savior Who died there to rid us of the poisonous effect of the snakes of sinfulness. I pray we all have seen Christ, through the eyes of faith, giving His all on that pole at Golgotha so that we can be healed of death and live forever with Christ as our Jehovah Rapha, the Healer of all healers. He is our caduceus; and we live under the healing of His blood on the cross.

My Prayer Today: … Heavenly Father, thank you for providing an image I can look upon and be reminded of what You did on that pole of death to provide me with life eternal. Amen

February 1, 2012 … Miracles Or The Message?

Blogger's Note: Continuing on with the chronological reading plan through the Bible this year (found in www.youversion.com for those who desire to following along). Now it's day 32 - in February, getting to know God more through His truth-filled word.

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Exodus, Chapters 7-9 … To study these chapters, go to this link -

Exodus 7: 10-13: … [God Speaks, … Man Can’t Hear] ... 10 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the LORD commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake. 11 Pharaoh then summoned wise men and sorcerers, and the Egyptian magicians also did the same things by their secret arts: 12 Each one threw down his staff and it became a snake. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. 13 Yet Pharaoh’s heart became hard and he would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said.

My Journal for Today: In my chronological reading plan today [Day 32, BTW], I’m taken to the accounts in Exodus of Moses encountering Pharaoh with one miracle event after another, beginning with the one copied above where Aaron’s staff became a snake. And if you’ve studied these miracle plagues which God used to communicate His message of deliverance through Moses/Aaron to Pharaoh, we know that each plague/miracle was a message to the Egyptian king and the people in Egypt that their gods were impotent to overcome God and His plan of deliverance. In each instance, from the simple snake illustration to other more elaborate and horrifying plagues, God was saying to Pharaoh, “You’ve got nothing to overcome Me … because ‘I AM’ !”

Have you ever wondered why God doesn’t do a similar gig in these times to show the rulers of the word that things have gotten way out of hand and that God’s people, the Church, are being enslaved by the world and Satan’s schemes? I used to wonder that early in my Christian life; but then God showed me, through HIS-STORY and His word, that we have all the truth this world needs; and we don’t need plagues and wondrous miracles to either establish or bolster our faith. We have THE MESSAGE in the established and canonized WORD OF GOD, the Bible, which carries all the truth we need to know the great I AM and to live according to His will.

Why would I, if I had a hardened heart, like Pharaoh, need anything more that the truth of 2nd Timothy 3: 16 – 17, … and Isaiah 55: 11, … and John 3: 16, … and Phil. 2: 6-11, and Romans 10: 9 – 13 to establish me in faith or to help me to decide the truth of Hebrews 11: 1, 6. I hope you know God’s communication of truth from that chain of messages from the Bible I’ve listed here. If not, I’ll leave it to you to go back, read, and meditate on them. But in a nutshell, these passages say, from God’s word (i.e., Scripture), all we need to know God’s purposes and His plan for our lives; and when we know and believe that truth, God’s love was made complete in the life , death, and resurrection of Jesus, The Christ, … that whomever believes in what He did for us on the cross and by His resurrection, … that one will have eternal life.

It’s all there! We don’t need any wondrous miracle or a series of plagues to know God’s message of salvation and His plan of sanctification, … do we? We have the MIRACLE of His word, His MESSAGE, to establish His plan of salvation and His plan of truth for our lives. Oh, there was a time in my life (in fact for the first 39 years) which I was like Pharaoh, … hard hearted, hearing Spirit-led Christians giving witness to God’s truth and His word, but like Pharaoh, summarily rejecting God’s message which was being transmitted to me through His word. But finally, also like Pharaoh, a series of life challenges helped me to receive and believe the truth of His message in His word. But unlike Pharaoh, I was able to humble myself and receive the truth of God’s plan for my life; and I was saved.

I hope – and pray – that anyone who might read this can allow the “plagues” of life circumstance [those are the MIRACLES] to break through and allow you to see that God wants you to get His MESSAGE, from His word, to give you the gift of His saving grace. Yes, we today do have MIRACLES – even plagues - in life to help us see and receive God’s MESSAGE; but it is the MESSAGE, from His word, which carries God’s truth, not the MIRACLES.

My Prayer Today: … Lord, I know You through Your MESSAGE of truth from Your word; and I’m bolstered to know You more through the MIRACLES of life which bring me back to Your MESSAGE. Amen

December 30, 2011 … Sustaining the Universe

Passage of the Day: Colossians 1: 17 [see highlight verse in bold/underlined in the context of the entire passage] … 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, …

My Journal for Today: Today in his Strength for Today devotional entry, John MacArthur highlights and discusses something that is a bit overwhelming in scope for many Christians (well, at least yours truly!) … that Christ holds all that He has created together to fulfill His Covenant plan for all time (see Col. 1: 17). Thinking of the vast expanse of all Christ created in the universe (see John 1: 1 – 3), little ole me would seem to be a very small part of God’s grand cosmic scheme. And one day, as we read in 2nd Peter 3: 10 - 13, God is going to fold all His former creation by fire into nothingness, creating a New Jerusalem (i.e., new Heaven) for His church; and that includes – you guessed it - little ole me. And though God is the Alpha and Omega and was/is the great I AM (see Micah 5: 2, Rev. 22: 13, and John 8: 58), He is MY Savior and Lord, making little ole me of infinitely great importance to Him and a very real part of why our Lord will bring down His new Heaven for His Bride (as was promised in John 14: 1 – 4).

And all I can say, very meekly and humbly here, is … WOW!

Think about this in the grand scheme of the universe. God created little ole ME (and you) for HIS glorious purpose; and so, this makes it a very BIG deal for me to live my life in accord with His purpose (i.e., His will). Meditate on this further, my dear one! Just as Christ, the Alpha and Omega, will sustain the whole universe He created; so, in His purpose and timing, He will sustain me (and you) as well … as part of His very special plan for His Bride.

Really, bringing this into focus makes one realize just how important it is for us to live in pursuit of and vigilance for God’s plan for our lives. That’s what Peter discussed as he referred to Paul’s teachings on this matter (in 2nd Peter 3: 14 – 18); and most certainly it’s all about what Paul was preaching/teaching in a number of his New Testament letters … that our lives are to be lived in obedience to God’s will so that God’s plan for our lives can be fulfilled in our relationship with Christ.

As we enter this upcoming new year, are we, as Christians, aspiring to and living out God’s will for our lives? If not, there is no better place and time for us to make the commitment to do so than right NOW! I pray that I do that; and I pray, dear one, that you do so as well. But we have one final day this year to concentrate on Christ and what He has done for us as believers; and I would predict that you’ve already said it for me – “… stay tuned!”

My Prayer Today: Hold me, Lord; and sustain me for Your design in Your time. Amen

December 24, 2011 … A Call to Worship

Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 10 - 11 [see highlight passage in bold/underlined] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

My Journal for Today: Yes, … same passage as yesterday; and any time a Bible teacher, like John MacArthur or yours truly, surveys a passage repeatedly, it will be for emphasis; and that is most certainly the case here. Studying Christology this month, MacArthur wants his Strength for Today readers [like me] to see the wondrous future which lies ahead for the unfallen Angels, for all redeemed believers whose spirits await glorified bodies in Heaven, and for all the living, who, like myself, worship Christ as Savior AND LORD.

Think on it, … meditate on it, … and celebrate it in this Advent season! For all rational humans who “confess” (i.e., affirm and/or acknowledge) the exalted Christ as Lord AND Savior will be able to worship our Lord in perfect and glorified closeness for all eternity (see that clearly stated in Romans 10: 9 – 13). However, for all rational beings who do not confess Jesus as Lord, there awaits the horror of bowing to worship The Christ as Lord in the eternal pit of separation, darkness, and the fires of hell.

Yes, ALL rational created beings will bow the knee of worship to the risen and exalted Christ, … the King of kings and Lord of lords. And I pray that whomever reads this has completely surrendered to the Living Lord, declaring in faith that HE is your Savior AND Lord. And I pray, on this Christmas Eve, that your life joins mine in celebrating the Advent birth of our risen Lord with our lives of sacrifice and service, … lives of living worship (see Romans 12: 1-2 which can be our only gift to Him for His gift to us, … the greatest gift of all.

No more words really need be written here about Christ; but there is more … so, yes, … stay tuned; we still have one more week in this current devotional study about Christ – and then a whole lifetime, actually an eternity, to get to know Him more closely!

My Prayer Today: May we all worship Your Holy and exalted Name, dear LORD. Amen

December 23, 2011 … Responding to Christ’s Exaltation

Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 10 - 11 [see highlight passage in bold/underlined] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

My Journal for Today: Today’s passage, and John MacArthur’s teachings on the Phil. 2: 10 – 11 passage in today’s Strength for Today entry, point to the inevitable response that all created beings ultimately will have before the throne of the risen and exalted “Lord,” and that is to humbly “bow” in worship. The Apostle Paul’s declaration of this truth here as well in Romans 14: 11 where Paul quotes from Isaiah 45:23, writing “It is written: 'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.' “ Paul’s forceful statement and quote from Scripture exempts NO ONE!

The subjunctive mood, involving the phrase “every knee should bow” means that such worship WILL take place at some point in God’s future plan for mankind as prophesied first by God through Isaiah (again 45: 23) . Some will have done so voluntarily, as has yours truly. However, some – and many more unfortunately – will come before the glorified and exalted Christ, bowing in stark terror to recognize His Lordship, realizing that God’s wrath awaits their rejection or willful apathy of Christ during their lives. And sadly these latter souls may have known Jesus as a historical figure or as a man if they were privileged to have seen Him walk on this earth. Some may have even recognized Him as the Savior of all mankind. However, unless they have acknowledged Christ as their “Lord” during their lifetime [as we’ve been studying here the past few days], their bowing in worship at His second coming will have been too late to receive the grace of His salvation.

That’s why Paul exhorts in Phil. 2: 5 – 11 for all believers to take on the humility of Christlikeness by choice while living, worshipping Christ as “Lord” in life so that the believer can receive His saving grace, serve the Lord in life [see Romans 12: 1], and worship The LORD forever in Heaven. Prayerfully, reading this, you know - that you know that you know - that you’ve humbly received Christ as Savior AND Lord. As I wrote yesterday … if you haven’t done so, DO IT NOW, so that when that time comes in glory you will be counted among those who humbly received the salvation offered by our Lord.

Yes, you guessed it by now – there’s even more Christology to come. Stay tuned!

My Prayer Today: Lord, I will humbly declare it again and often – You are my Lord! Amen

December 22, 2011 … Submitting to Christ As LORD

Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 9, 11 [see highlight passage in bold/underlined] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

My Journal for Today: I know, if you’ve been following my blogs the last few days, it may seem like I’m being redundant. But trust me, my fellow believer, this repetition is important stuff!

Yesterday, we briefly looked at the untenable position (at least in my estimation) of one who believes that Christ is his Savior but has not truly received Him as Lord. Today, John MacArthur in his devotional entry stresses the inability for one to call himself “Christian” and hold this position. He writes this, “Jesus is Lord; and if you refuse Him as Lord, you cannot call Him Savior.” These are challenging words and perhaps even convicting for some, especially for those who believe they have the “fire insurance” of salvation, knowing that they are sinners and believing Jesus died for them as their Savior.

But when one reads, in today’s passage (Phil. 2: 9, 11), that God, The Father, has established Christ as “LORD;” and then, if you go on to read Romans 10: 9, one must see that to be truly saved one must believe and confess, with a heart-felt commitment, that “Jesus is LORD.” As I wrote yesterday, it’s a “package deal,” and one cannot have all that salvation affords without making Christ his Lord as well as his Savior.

Okay, I’m being repetitive again! But my following friend, this is worthy of repetition! I’m afraid there are many who sit in church pews every Sunday, who would call themselves “Christian” if they were surveyed as to their “beliefs.” And if you ask them, “Is Jesus Christ the Lord of your life,” they may even answer affirmatively. However, their lives cannot attest to the reality of Christ being their Lord because the fruit of the Spirit is not on their tree of life (see Gal. 5: 22 – 23). Rather, one finds the fruit of the flesh, growing so evidently (see Gal. 5: 19 – 21) with only token and occasional verbal repentance – but no real life transformation to give witness to the reality of Christ’s Lordship in their life.

These are those who will tragically say at Heaven’s gate, “Lord Jesus, I have always called you, “my Lord,” … to which He would say, “I never really knew you.” And these nominal “christians” thought they had the fire insurance of Heaven and they will spend eternity in hell because they had not received and acknowledged the Lordship of Christ in their lives. So, my friend, is this not SERIOUS business? THEREFORE …

To any who read this: I declare this to be VERY serious business [!]; and though this is the Advent Season, a time of joyful celebration of Christ’s birth, it is a most serious time of year if one has not truly given over his or her life to Christ’s Lordship. I truly pray, as I write this, that anyone reading this and needing to surrender to Christ as Lord as well as Savior will DO IT NOW! Move into the New Year with a newly established commitment and covenant with Jesus as your Savior AND your Lord. Find someone whom you respect as a Christian and confess to them, as well as to God, that you need to be in TOTAL surrender to Christ as Lord AND Savior. Ask that person to help you be accountable to Christ’s Lordship; and develop an action plan (a “battle plan,” if you will) to this new level of covenant surrender. If you do this, I could imagine Christ one day, in Heaven, saying to you, “Well, done, my friend. As your Lord, I have smiled on your service.”

And so, let us move on to grow even closer to our LORD. Stay tuned!

My Prayer Today: I will say it again. Dear Jesus, You are my LORD! Amen

December 21, 2011 … Jesus Is Savior AND Lord

Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 9, 11 [see highlight passage in bold/underlined] … 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

My Journal for Today: What I’m about to write may not sit well with some who call themselves, “Christian.” However, today’s repeated passage again declares – for emphasis – that Jesus Christ is “LORD.” And this has a stark and powerful implication when it comes to salvation. According to John MacArthur in his entry today for Strength for Today, the truth that Jesus is LORD is affirmed over 700 times in the New Testament; and no more clearly than in Acts 2: 36, where Peter in his great evangelical sermon declared, “…let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord AND Christ.“ [All caps to emphasize the conjunction “AND,” which connects Jesus as Christ AND LORD.]

It is an enigma to MacArthur, and to yours truly, that some, who think they are “Christian,” can believe - and even teach - that one can be saved by receiving and believing in Jesus, The Christ, BEFORE they receive Christ as their Lord. And I totally agree with MacArthur in today’s devotional entry when he asserts that such an assumption is “… completely unbiblical, … in effect … saying Christ isn’t Lord until we give Him permission to be so in our lives.” Looking at Acts 2: 21 and 16: 31 clearly shows, as MacArthur proclaims, “… to be saved, you must confess Jesus as LORD.

Salvation is a package deal, … acceptance of Jesus as CHRIST AND LORD. We cannot separate out Christ, the Savior, from Christ, the Lord; because without Christ’s authority as Lord of all, Jesus [whose Name means “God Who saves”] could never be the saving Christ. So, as Christians, we must realize that to be saved – i.e., truly born again as believers – Christ must be our LORD to be our Savior; and as saved Christians, Christ’s authority and Lordship will rule over our lives forever! We can only be “living sacrifices” and live transformed lives, as Paul wrote about in Romans 12: 1 – 2, if Christ is truly the LORD of our life.

Therefore, as we move through the Advent season, we need to ask ourselves, “Have I truly repented of my sin condition and confessed Christ as The LORD of my life in believing Him to be my Savior?” If not, NOW is the time do so – and be saved by the authority of Christ, as Lord AND Savior. And making Jesus “the LORD” means total submission to His Lordship with all that such surrender entails. Perhaps this year is the year that you will truly bow before God’s throne of grace and make Christ the LORD of ALL THINGS in your life.

And to that end, we will see more of our LORD this month. Stay tuned!

My Prayer Today: O, dear Jesus, You are LORD of all!! Amen

October 25, 2011 … The Heart of the Gospel

Passage of the Day: Romans 3: 28 … For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.

My Journal for Today: This month we’ve been discussing how we relate to God in dealing with the concept and reality of sin in our lives. And as Christians, everything we stand for spiritually rests upon the linchpin doctrine of justification by God’s grace alone and through our repentance in faith alone, apart from our works. Though there has been much theological debate over the centuries about this doctrinal stand (in fact, all of the reformation was wrapped up in this debate), it seems clear to this believer, as evidenced by today’s verse (as well as by Eph. 2: 8 – 9 and/or Titus 3: 4 – 7) that God’s grace ALONE, in the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, The Christ, was the propitiation for my (and man’s) sin; and I was saved forever when I repented in faith ALONE and received God’s saving grace … as did Abraham of old (see Romans 4: 16).

This has been the entire thrust of Paul’s theological treatise in his letter to the Romans (and the Church … and to you and me) in Chapters 1 – 6; and mankind must deal with the wondrous or terrible outcomes of this Gospel message … that being the salvation or the damnation of man by faith in Christ or faith in anything other than Jesus. For those who choose, in faith, to follow Christ completely (see Luke 9: 23, Gal. 2: 20, and Romans 10: 9 – 13), the wondrous outcome is life with God in heaven forever. For those who choose, with no faith in Christ, to follow self and/or Satan, the terrible and absolutely horrific outcome will be an eternal damnation to a hell separated from God eternally.

Clearly, at least to this writer, Christ came to save me (and mankind) – see 1st Tim. 1: 15; and thankfully God is patient, desiring that all who receive Him in faith be saved (see 2nd Peter 3: 9). However, each of us in our years of accountability (and some would say the latter has nothing to do with the gospel), must either receive or reject the truth of the Gospel by faith as we know it (see Romans, chapters 1 – 3). The choice may be emotionally difficult; but in reality, it is theologically that simple.

I pray that any, who are reading this, have made that absolute commitment to receive God’s saving grace by repenting in faith of your sins and accepting/receiving Christ as your Savior and Lord. I probably should do this more often, (i.e., offer God’s gospel promise) knowing that others may read what I write; but I have a tendency to get focused on other discipleship issues for believers in my devotionals – probably because I know that I’m saved and desire that other saved Christians find what I am finding in my relationship with Christ. However, if you’re reading this; and you just want to make sure of your salvation, I beseech you to meditate on that passage from Romans 10: 9 – 13 [linked here for your study]; ... and then, if you mean it in your heart, simply pray to declare your faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior – and then share this decision with a Christian whom you respect. And after this declaration of your repentance and reception of God’s saving grace, get with that special someone, whom you perceive as a mature believer in Christ, and ask what you need to do to grow in your new covenant of faith in Christ.

Wow, if you’ve had doubts about your salvation, this could be an eternally special day for you!

My Prayer Today: I pray, Lord, that all would find and receive You as I have. Amen

October 21, 2011 … Paying Sin’s Price

Passage of the Day: Romans 6:23 [see in bold] … 20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. 21 What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

My Journal for Today: Wow; if there was ever a passage that hits the heart of yours truly as a believer, it is the verse highlighted for today above from the Apostle Paul. However, every now and then it’s wise, and spiritually healthy, to reflect deeply on the wondrous truth of God’s gift-wrapped grace of eternal life in the light of what I (we) deserve as sinners. And the wage for our sin condition is death, as Paul reminds his readers in today’s highlight verse (i.e., Rom. 6: 23); and nothing we can say, or nothing we can do, will ever pay off that debt. And I’m remembering Paul also declared in Phil. 3: 7 … that all of Paul’s works were a loss for the sake of Christ. But then, balancing this truth with joy and exuberance, the Apostle declared with conviction to the Corinthians, and all of us as believers, “Thanks be to God for His indescribable Gift.” [2nd Cor. 9: 15]

And as I sit and type this, I’m meditating and remembering that Christ did it ALL – EVERYTHING – when He died for me (and all born-again believers); and when He was raised again and ascended into Heaven to be re-glorified by His Father, … He now sits on His throne, interceding for me (us), having given me (us) His Spirit to be my (our) Holy Advocate forever. And it’s all a gift – a marvelous, mysterious, and wondrous gift. And if you’re reading this, I would hope, as I am, that you are thinking and maybe singing or declaring, something along the lines of the old Doxology you may have sung in church [see below]… “Praise God from Whom all blessings flow.”

Christ is the only One Who could – and has – paid my (our) sin debt (see Acts 4: 12); and He paid it in full, declaring from the cross, “It is finished!” He was my only hope for redemption when I was locked into my past chains of sinfulness (see John 14: 6); and He’s the only hope I have now as a saved sinner to be cleansed from my sin (see 1st John 1: 9). Only my faith saved me; and only my faith in repentance can continue to shape me into the person I’m now predestined to be … and that is the image of my Lord and Savior, Jesus. [see Phil. 1: 6]

Are you singing yet? … If not, join me. I think you know the tune …; but even if you don’t, just say the words and reflect on the truths of today’s devotional as you say or sing these words aloud from the classic Doxology … or if you want to go to a lovely You Tube version with the Maranatha Singers rendering this old, great praise song … GO TO THIS LINK …

Praise God from Whom all blessings flow.
Praise Him all creatures here below.
Praise Him above the heavenly hosts.
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

My Prayer Today: Amen and amen!

October 13, 2011 … Alive In Christ

Passage of the Day: Romans 6: 4 … [see verse in bold/underlined] … Rom. 6: 1 - 4 … What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

My Journal for Today: Romans 6 is all about the death and resurrection of the Christian spiritually. In the rebirth of conversion, we, who realize Christ as Lord/Savior, die to sin and now and forever live spiritually in Christ. Today is the thirteenth day of October. For me, the leap from death into eternity with God happened on another 13th day of the month in 1983. It was April 13th of that year; and the one passage of scripture, which I have memorized reflecting on what happened that day for me, is Galatians 2: 20; and since I have it in my heart in the NKJV, let me quote it: “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no long I who live but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

On that day [4/13/83], many years ago now, I died to an old life of sin and was reborn into a new life in Christ, which is also reflected in another Pauline saying from 2nd Cor. 5: 17: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone and the new has come!” I pray, as I write this and you read it, that you share in that death to self and the new birth in our Savior. As John Macarthur puts it, “Having died to the old life, Christians have been raised to share new life in Christ.” And that’s why we Christians – truly born-again believers – will live a life in Christ, being drawn away from the old life of carnal living and in pursuit of a life of Christlikeness. But does that mean that Christians won’t sin? Of course not; but having died to sin in Christ, we can now use God’s enabling [i.e., sanctifying] grace, ministered to us by His Spirit, to overcome sin as our Lord shapes us into His own image.

There’s really not much more I could ever add to this as a description of who I am as a Christian. On that day in April of 1983, I died to my former carnal life by faith in Christ; and now, living by that same faith in God, the Holy Spirit, Who indwells my spirit, lifts me to walk in this world, growing closer to Christlikeness day-by-day as I deal with my residual sin nature. Yes, to repeat what I’ve said above, I am still a sinner, who can choose to sin; but I am now a redeemed sinner, who can rather choose to live for Christ and to live in freedom from those old sin choices by the grace of God, as it says in Gal. 2: 20, living for the One “… Who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

There was a time in my life that I lived as an abomination to God, living and acting in enmity with my Lord; but now, by His grace, I live by faith, and even in the flesh, to glorify God, Who is my Lord and Savior. I don’t know about you, but the now life in Christ is so much more alive than that former life of sin and death in the flesh. And to think it will be that way for eternity as I grow closer and closer to the One Who saved me. How glorious the thought!

My Prayer Today: May God be praised for His saving grace! Amen

April 26, 2011 … The Resurrection: Motive for Salvation

Passage of the Day: 1st Corinthian 15: 29 … Now if there is no resurrection, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them?

My Journal for Today: The fact of Christ’s resurrection – and it is a fact! – and the hope that is connected thereunto, becomes a powerful witness that often opens hearts/minds to be able to really hear the reality of the gospel and receive Christ in faith as Lord and Savior.

It has been said that a funeral is one of the best venues to share the truth of the gospel, highlighting Christ’s resurrection, because unbelievers, who are present, become focused on the realized finality of death. A non-Christian at a funeral can see death right in front of their eyes; and hearing the gospel preached in that context can open hearts which have theretofore been blocked from grasping what Christ had done on the cross for these lost ones. And if one can recognize their own sinfulness and their own mortality … and if they can see the hope presented by Christ’s resurrection, the witness of Christ from the cross, or from believers who will join Jesus in death to live forever, this becomes a powerful hope that can defeat the image seen in the finality of physical death, giving hope through the reality of the resurrection and the truth of God’s grace in salvation.

John MacArthur in his devotional for this date in Strength for Today, having seen many come to salvation at the death of believing loved ones, gives testimony to the power of the resurrection in the context of physical death or the mortality of our human condition. That was my prayer for my “lost” sister at the memorial service for our Dad a few years ago. At that service I read portions of a letter written to me by Dad when he was 72 years old. He had come to a place where he could see the need for receiving God’s saving grace and praying to receive Christ as his Savior. At his funeral I told of our mother receiving Christ just six hours before she died. Both of them, late in their lives, came to realize that their hope for eternity could only rest in Jesus Christ, Who would bring them to their home in heaven. I’d like to be able to say that this witness influenced my sister to receive Christ; however, to this date I see no evidence of that.

Knowing that is a great comfort to me … that I will be with our parents in heaven. But at the same time, it is frustrating to see my sister still resisting this truth. So, as I write this, I still diligently pray that my sister can come to that place that our parents did before their physical deaths and be able to ask for the saving grace that is only offered by the resurrection of Christ. I also pray, as I write this, that any who read this, who have not done so, will recognize this grace and will receive Christ as your Savior and Lord.

If you’ve been resisting this, like I was as a non-believer almost three decades ago, it’s time to pray and confess. Pray and tell God that you are a sinner who needs a Savior; and ask Jesus to save you. Thank Him for dying for your sins; and ask Him to be the Lord of your life. Believing that and proclaiming it openly and honestly to another is all that it takes for you to spend eternity in heaven with the One Who was raised from the dead to bring you there. [see John 3: 16 and Romans 10: 9 – 13]

My Prayer Today: Your resurrection is our eternal hope, Lord! Amen

April 15, 2011 … Reaching Out to Others

Passage of the Day: Luke 23: 43 … 43 And Jesus said to him [the repentant thief on the cross], “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

My Journal for Today: This incident, captured by Luke in today’s passage, is very personal for me, which I will explain below.

First, let me say that what happened as the life of Jesus, the Christ, moved inexorably toward His death on that cross, hanging between two thieves who were also convicted to die; and Christ’s word here to one of those convicted criminals is a remarkable example of God’s prevenient and saving grace. I know, in faith and from God’s word, Christ would have equally wanted both of these thieves to be in heaven with Him as they all would die mortally that day. Certainly, both of the convicted and crucified thieves saw the same pitiful, weakened figure hanging between them with a sign over His head that proclaimed, “King of the Jews!” However, only one of the two responded to God’s prevenient calling of grace, which was available to both of them that day. Only one of the men repented and acknowledged his sin and proclaimed the truth that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God. Only one of the thieves was converted by God’s saving grace that day; and only one of those men are with Jesus today, awaiting His second coming and their total glorification in the New Jerusalem.

However, in that remarkable, telling moment, Jesus told the repentant thief that he would be with Him in heaven THAT VERY DAY! This encounter, probably as much as any of God’s word from the New Testament, assures me that the spirits of both of my parents, who believed/received Christ very late in their lives, are now with Jesus in heaven. And it tells me that it’s never too late, no matter the past/personal circumstances of one’s life, to heed and respond to God’s calling for salvation. It was that calling to me when I was 39 years old that led me, most certainly “a repentant thief,” to receive God’s saving grace. And it was God’s prevenient grace, being received by my father at age 76 and then my Mom, just six hours before she died, that will allow me to see them in heaven in God’s timing.

What about you? Have you surrendered, as did the thief on the cross, to the calling on your heart by Christ? If you haven’t, NOW is the time to declare that you are a sinner … that you need a Savior … and that Christ is Your Savior and Lord. God’s word promises (see Rom. 10: 9 – 13 - linked) that if you – or ANYONE - declares this before God, as did the one thief, you will be saved for eternity to be with Christ. But if you don’t/can’t before you die, you will languish forever separated from God in hell. No more need be said.

My Prayer Today: Lord, may all who read this heed your call. Amen

January 9, 2011 … Humility ... Essential for Christlikeness

Passage of the Day: Ephesians 4: 2a – Be completely humble and gentle; …

My Journal for Today: Here early in the year in my morning devotionals, we’ve been dwelling, from John MacArthur’s Strength for Today on Eph. 4: 1. Now we move on, as Paul begins his instructions on the qualities of a Christian life that is a walk “worthy” of Christlikeness. And it is of interest to me that the first two characteristics of Christlikeness Paul chooses to describe are HUMILITY and MEEKNESS [or “gentleness”]. Interestingly enough, these are the only two character traits that Jesus ever used to describe Himself (see Matthew 11: 29 below).

>>> SCRIPTURE: [Jesus speaking] Matt. 11: 29 “Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle [also translated “meek”] and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

In his devotional, MacArthur concentrates today on the quality of HUMILITY, which is a quality of Godliness that is often referenced in the book of Proverbs [see below Prov. 3: 34; 15: 33; and 22: 4] . Therefore, humility obviously is a quality for Christians to pursue as we grow in Christ, desiring to be like Him.

>>> SCRIPTURE: Prov. 3: 34 He [God] mocks proud mockers but gives grace to the humble.
>>> Prov. 15: 33 The fear of the LORD teaches a man wisdom, and humility comes before honor.
>>> Prov. 22: 4 Humility and the fear of the LORD bring wealth and honor and life.

And … both James (in James 4: 6) and Peter (in 1Peter 5: 5-7) also support the importance of developing humility as a Christian, with both authors quoting Prov. 3: 34 in those passages, even declaring that humility is the key to God’s grace (see statement from 1st Peter 5 below).

>>> SCRIPTURE: 1st Peter 5: 5 Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. 7Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.

Pride, we know, and as we can read in the above scriptures, is the exact opposite of humility; and we know from Genesis 2 that pride was the “birth mother” of all sin. Satan, in fact, was expelled from heaven because of his anti-humility (i.e., pride) – see Isaiah 14: 13-14, where the fallen angel Lucifer says “I will” several times before God said “No, you won’t” and expelled the prideful angel from heaven. And so, since all sin has its root in pride; and since sin is defiance of and separation from God, humility becomes the attitude that is essential for both salvation and sanctification.

As to salvation, no one will ever enter God’s Kingdom without coming, to God’s throne of grace to receive God’s gift of salvation by HUMBLY declaring that Christ is that one’s Lord and Savior. And no one can be sanctified and walk in the power of God unless he/she can be HUMBLE enough to receive God’s grace, which God is so freely and willingly doles out through His Spirit to his humble servants.

It is when we walk humbly, as did Christ (see Phil. 2: 5-11), and when we have a Christlike attitude of humility (and meekness) that God can lift us up (again, see 1st Peter 5: 6) and give us His power so that we can be His witnesses on earth (see Acts 1: 8).

So we choose … humility or pride; and when we do, God promises – and will supply - all the grace we need for eternity and for our walk with Him here in this life as well.

So, … what is our choice today?

My Prayer Today: Lord, I tremble to pray this prayer; but I do pray that You help me to be humble. Amen

2010 – November 26 – Dead Men Walking

Study from God’s Word… The entire letter to the church at Galatia … Passage for Reflection: Galatians 2: 20 … NIV ... I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

My Journal for Today: Today, my devotional shepherd, Dr. LaGard Smith, in his book of devotions based upon my reading of The Daily Bible in Chronological Order had me read through the entire letter Paul wrote to the churches in Galatia, that region in Asia Minor where Paul and Barnabas had traveled and evangelized. At the time Paul wrote the letter to these beloved Christians he had helped bring to Christ, a group of misguided Jews, claiming to be converted Christians, were trying to convince the Galatian believers in that region that they needed to be circumcised and follow the Old Covenant of the Law closely to be “real” Christians. And Paul wrote the truth that we read in the letter to the Galatians that the Gospel of Christ has freed them as Gentiles, not requiring any acts of the flesh to be converted for them to walk as heirs to God’s promise of salvation.

And the focus of today’s oft quoted passage from Galatians 2: 20 [a passage, by-the-way, I hope you have memorized] points all Christians to the identification we should have in the only way we can be saved; and that is to die to self by having surrendered faith in what Christ did for us on the cross. As Smith says today, when/if we acknowledge our sinfulness and surrender ourselves unto the death Christ experienced for us on the cross, we become “the walking dead.” But because Christ died so that we could be raised again, as He was from the grave, our spiritual death to our selves will become – one day in glory – spiritual and eternal life with Christ, which is so vividly portrayed in the witness of Christian baptism.

Today, Dr. Smith, my devotional author, closes his entry for the day with what he calls an “excruciating” question. He writes, ”Am I a dead person walking with Christ, or a pretend Christian who has yet to truly die (to self)?” For the receipt of God’s gift of salvation, all who walk with Christ must have been crucified to self for us to be “dead men (or women) walking.” I pray that this includes all who read here. If not, now is the time to choose to live in Christ and die to self. And if you have questions about that, you can email me now [Email Address - billb13@bellsouth.net]. Or you can go read the entire book of Galatians as I did this morning; and then go to Romans 10: 9 – 13 [linked] and read exactly what all must do to die to self and be reborn in Christ.

My Prayer for Today: Lord, I pray that all here join me as the walking dead to self who’ve been reborn in Your for eternity. Amen

2010 – September 7 – Out of Touch with Reality

Study from God’s Word… Ezekiel 29: 17-21; Daniel 4; Jeremiah 52: 31-34 [2Kgs 25: 27-30] … Passage for Reflection: Daniel 4: 33 … NIV Immediately what had been said about Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from people and ate grass like cattle. His body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird.

My Journal for Today: Today I’m going to take the title from my current devotional shepherd, Dr. LaGard Smith; but I believe I’m being led by God’s Spirit to take a different tack on his highlight text from God’s word today. Today’s devotional from Dr. Smith was most informing and had great Christian application. However, this particular passage from the Book of Daniel has led me to reflect on the lengths God will go in His prevenient grace to pursue and draw one of His elect to Himself. When someone uses the term “Hound of Heaven” to depict God’s relentless pursuit of His elect, it’s an apt word picture.

I think you Bible students will remember God had used some pretty dramatic interactions betweeen King Nebuchanezzar with Daniel and his young friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (their Babylonian names) to get King Neb to realize that the God these Hebrew lads worshipped was very powerful. But it wasn’t until this latter set of circumstances that lowered the King to a state of brokenness where he knew that he, the King of Babylon, needed a Savior. And it was the events of today’s text which led the Pagan King to faith in the Lord of lords. And from biblical story, I remember what it took for God to bring me down to a personal level of brokenness where, like King Neb, I reached out to receive God’s saving grace.

And for those of you who have lost relatives, like I do, I hope you gain hope that God is going to do all He needs to do to bring your loved one to Christ – IF – (and that’s a big “IF”) he or she is in God’s book of life. And my friend, it may be a messy story – or even a painful picture – to watch unfold; but one day God will have His way with those who resist His call of grace on their lives. For me it took two decades of decadence and a lot of personal and marital pain to break me. For Nebuchanezzar it was even a more ugly set of circumstances. For the Apostle Paul, Christ had to knock him off his high horse of pride and even cause him to go blind so that he could ultimately see God’s calling for this disobedient, Christ-hater to come and serve God.

I don’t know if my sister will ever come to know Christ as Savior and Lord. But if God wants her, she will come. Oh, the process of her coming may get ugly; and I pray that if that’s what it takes, it happens. Because I want my lost sister to come to know God the way He has revealed Himself to me, to King Neb, and yes, to the Apostle Paul. And about the only way I can be a part of that is to continue to witness my testimony to my dear sis (which I’ve done and will continue to do), to pray for her (which I do most days), and to be patient, trusting my God, and knowing that he has a plan for my sis. I just hope she doesn’t have to grow nails like a bird for her to come to know Christ as her Savior. But if that’s what it takes, … bring on those nails, Lord!

My Prayer for Today: Lord, I praise you for knocking me off my high horse so that I could surrender to Your will for my eternal life. Amen

2010 – September 3 – False Security in Righteousness

Study from God’s Word… Ezekiel, Chapters 32 – 33 … Passage for Reflection: Ezekiel 33: 13 … NIV 13 If I tell the righteous man that he will surely live, but then he trusts in his righteousness and does evil, none of the righteous things he has done will be remembered; he will die for the evil he has done.

My Journal for Today: For a New Covenant (i.e., New Testament) oriented Christian this text (today’s highlight passage) may be troubling. It seems to be one of those passages which could be interpreted as support for the Armenian position of salvation: i.e., that one can lose his/her salvation because of their behavioral choices – even after believing in the God of salvation. But one has to take this passage in the context of the Old Covenant which God had made with Israel as well as God’s promise of a Messiah, One Who would come to God’s people and be their agent of salvation, … their Redeemer.

So, for you Calvinist types out there; don’t despair. Today’s passage is absolutely right on target, given the Covenant which God had with His people in the days of Ezekiel. And this is why we see that God’s people kept failing in that covenant, which was dependent upon the faith of those who looked forward to a Messiah and, in faith, put their trust in the God of the Old Covenant, recognizing that they could not live up to God’s Law – in and of themselves. It was the faith of the Old Testament believers, i.e., those who recognized their own unrighteousness and humbly pursued righteousness in the face of their individual and collective sinfulness, which produced salvation for these Old Testament Jews.

I know. It’s complicated, isn’t it? But when Jesus came on the scene, bringing forth the New Covenant, He simplified it for all mankind. But nothing has changed. We NT Christians find salvation – i.e., ever lasting salvation – the same way an OT Jew did. We cast our inability to be righteous on a God Who is the only One who can give us the power to be righteous. In our case, in this New Covenant dispensation, our faith casting is upon Jesus, The Christ, Who came to earth, lived, died, raised from the dead, and was returned to Heaven to be with His Father so that we, i.e., those who would repent of our sinfulness and receive God’s saving grace – in faith, … we would find that promise of the classic passage which you probably have memorized, … John 3: 16.

So, though I’m not righteous, when God sees me, He sees me as righteous, because I know I’m unrighteous and believe in the only One Who can save me from my unrighteousness; and He’s the only one Who can – and will – make me righteous … because of my faith. So, I can have confidence in my eternal security, … not because of me; but because of The Christ. I pray that you have that confidence too; and if you don’t, you need to do what is simply spelled out in Romans 10: 9 – 13, acknowledging to God and someone else that you’re a sinner, … declaring in faith that you repent of your sinfulness, … thanking Christ for dying for your sins, and finally asking Him to become the Lord of your life. If you’ve done that, and meant it in your heart, declaring it openly to someone, you are declared righteous by God – FOREVER!

My Prayer for Today: Again, HALLELUJAH, Lord for what You’ve done to give me, a sinner, Your righteousness. Amen